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The primary contribution of this study is the proposal of an explainable deep-learning neural network (ATTnet) that employs an attention mechanism to achieve accurate electricity spot price forecasting and an explainable model pipeline. The concise, single-stream network consists of a 5-head attention mechanism and gated recurrent units, which have been developed to model the temporal dependencies of the volatile market data. In addition to introducing a novel neural network architecture for volatile time series data, this study makes a substantial contribution by investigating prediction factors in two ways: temporally via the attention scores from the input sequences and globally via feature Shapely values. In real-time electricity price prediction, historical prices, temperature, hour, and zonal load are found to be the most important variables. The deep learning model was tested on real-time price profiles from eight generators within the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) network. The proposed model achieves performance gains of 21% in MAE and 22% in MAPE over the state-of-the-art benchmark methods.

Short-term electricity markets are becoming more relevant due to less-predictable renewable energy sources, attracting considerable attention from the industry. The balancing market is the closest to real-time and the most volatile among them. Its price forecasting literature is limited, inconsistent and outdated, with few deep learning attempts and no public dataset. This work applies to the Irish balancing market a variety of price prediction techniques proven successful in the widely studied day-ahead market. We compare statistical, machine learning, and deep learning models using a framework that investigates the impact of different training sizes. The framework defines hyperparameters and calibration settings; the dataset and models are made public to ensure reproducibility and to be used as benchmarks for future works. An extensive numerical study shows that well-performing models in the day-ahead market do not perform well in the balancing one, highlighting that these markets are fundamentally different constructs. The best model is LEAR, a statistical approach based on LASSO, achieving a mean absolute error of 32.82 €/MWh, surpassing more complex and computationally demanding approaches with errors ranging from 33.71 €/MWh to 44.55 €/MWh.

It is widely acknowledged that electricity price forecasting become an essential factor in operational activities, planning, and scheduling for the participant in the price-setting market, nowadays. Nevertheless, electricity price became a complex signal due to its non-stationary, non-linearity, and time-variant behavior. Consequently, a variety of artificial intelligence techniques are proposed to provide an efficient method for short-term electricity price forecasting. Backtracking search algorithm as the recent augmentation of optimization technique, yield the potential of searching a closed-form solution in mathematical modeling with a higher probability, obviating the necessity to comprehend the correlations between variables. Concurrently, this study also developed a feature selection technique, to select the input variables subsets that have a substantial implication on forecasting of electricity price, based on a combination of mutual information and support vector machine. For the verification of simulation results, actual data sets from the Ontario energy market in the year 2020 covering various weather seasons are acquired. Finally, the obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed strategy through improved preciseness in comparison with the distinctive methods.

Forecasting accuracy of electricity prices is crucial to the optimal operation of the electricity market, as improper forecasting can lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and market instability. Thus, it is highly desired to develop a robust electricity price forecasting framework. The development of an optimal forecasting model depends on the proper choice of exogenous variables, and as the impact/characteristics of the input variables may change over time, thus the choice of appropriate external variables should be a dynamic task. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an online adaptive forecasting model, which will not only continuously forecast but also learn automatically by sensing the changes in the relationship of the variables. To sense the changes and to develop a parsimonious model proper feature engineering is required. Multi-level correlation with multicollinearity has been considered as the feature engineering tool for online training to create an accurate forecasting model. After analyzing existing studies and analyzing the gaps, an approach is proposed, utilizing a General Regression Neural Network (GRNN) with advanced feature engineering and simultaneous adaptive learning, that can outperform traditional models like ANN, RNN, and LSTM in terms of forecasting accuracy.

Electricity price forecasting (EPF) is a complex task due to market volatility and nonlinearity, which cause rapid and unpredictable fluctuations and introduce heteroscedasticity in forecasting. These factors result in varying prediction errors over time, making it difficult for models to capture stable patterns and leading to poor performance. This study introduces the Heteroscedastic Temporal Convolutional Network (HeTCN), a novel Encoder-Decoder framework designed for day-ahead EPF. HeTCN utilizes a Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) to capture long-term dependencies and cyclical patterns in electricity prices. A key innovation is the heteroscedastic output layer, which directly represents variable uncertainty, enhancing performance under fluctuating market conditions. Additionally, a multi-view feature selection algorithm identifies crucial factors for specific periods, improving forecast precision. The framework employs an improved loss function based on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), which adjusts for the heteroscedastic nature of electricity prices by predicting both the mean and variance of the price distribution. This approach mitigates the impact of extreme price spikes and reduces overfitting, resulting in robust and reliable predictions. Comprehensive evaluations demonstrate HeTCN’s superiority over existing solutions such as DeepAR and the Temporal Fusion Transformer (TFT), with average improvements of 25.3%, 24.9%, and 17.4% in the mean absolute error (MAE), symmetric mean absolute percentage error (sMAPE), and the root of mean squared error (RMSE) compared to DeepAR, and 17.6%, 14.4%, and 13.6% relative to TFT across five distinct electricity markets. These results underscore HeTCN’s effectiveness in managing volatility and heteroscedasticity, marking a significant advancement in electricity price forecasting.

Electricity prices have complex features, such as high frequency, multiple seasonality, and nonlinearity. These factors will make the prediction of electricity prices difficult. However, accurate electricity price prediction is important for energy producers and consumers to develop bidding strategies. To improve the accuracy of prediction by using each algorithms' advantages, this paper proposes a hybrid model that uses the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), and Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN). EMD is used to decompose the electricity prices into low and high frequency components. Low frequency components are forecasted by the ARIMA model and the high frequency series are predicted by the TCN model. Experimental results using the realistic electricity price data from Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) electricity markets show that the proposed method has a higher prediction accuracy than other single methods and hybrid methods.

The electricity market is a complex and dynamic environment characterized by a multitude of factors that influence electricity prices. Accurate and reliable electricity price forecasting (EPF) is crucial for market participants, including power generators, consumers, and policymakers. Electricity prices are influenced by temporal dependencies and electricity consumption patterns. Therefore, dependencies across different feature dimensions (cross-dimensional dependencies) and temporal trend information are essential. To address the aforementioned issues, we propose Multimodal Integration and Linear Enhanced Transformer (MILET), which combines cross-dimensional dependencies with single-dimensional modal features. First, we decompose electricity price data into three regular modals using Variational Mode Decomposition and Sample Entropy. This approach enables us to uncover the intrinsic patterns within the variable, thereby simplifying the complexity of the data series. Then integrate these three modals and the original dataset into a five-channel encoder (Modal Integration Encoder, MIE) with both single and multi-dimensional information. MIE is composed of Overall Two-Stage Attention (OTSA) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), where OTSA handles cross-dimensional dependencies, and LSTM addresses long-term dependencies. Additionally, we capture trend information in electricity consumption features through linear layers and linearly integrate the data to obtain the forecasting results. Extensive experimental results on five electricity price datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of MILET compared to state-of-the-art techniques. Our code is available at https://github.com/Lisen-Zhao/MILET/tree/master.

The inherent volatility in electricity prices exerts a significant impact on the dynamic nature of the electricity market, shaping the decision-making processes of its stakeholders. Precise Electricity Price Forecasting (EPF) plays a pivotal role in enabling energy suppliers to optimize their bidding strategies, mitigate transactional risks, and capitalize on market opportunities, thereby ensuring alignment with the true economic value of energy transactions. Hence, this study proposes an advanced deep learning model for forecasting electricity prices one day in ahead. The model leverages the synergistic capabilities of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory networks (BiLSTM), operating concurrently with an autoregressive (AR) component, denoted as CNN-BiLSTM-AR. The integration of the AR model alongside CNN-BiLSTM enhances overall performance by exploiting AR’s proficiency in capturing transient linear dependencies. Simultaneously, CNN-BiLSTM excels in assimilating spatial and protracted temporal features. Moreover, the research delves into the implications of incorporating hyperparameter optimization (HPO) techniques, such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Random Search (RS). The effectiveness of the model is evaluated using two distinct European datasets sourced from the UK and German electricity markets. Performance metrics, including Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE), serve as benchmarks for assessment. Finally, the findings underscore the notable performance enhancement achieved through the implementation of HPO methods in conjunction with the proposed model. Especially, the PSO-CNN-BiLSTM-AR model demonstrates substantial reductions in RMSE and MAE, amounting to 16.7% and 23.46%, respectively, for the German electricity market.

This paper proposes a new hybrid model to forecast electricity market prices up to four days ahead. The components of the proposed model are combined in two dimensions. First, on the “vertical” dimension, long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) models are stacked up to produce supplementary price forecasts. The final forecasts are then picked depending on how the predictions compare to a price spike threshold. On the “horizontal” dimension, five models are designed to extend the forecasting horizon to four days. This is an important requirement to make forecasts useful for market participants who trade energy and ancillary services multiple days ahead. The horizontally cascaded models take advantage of the availability of specific public data for each forecasting horizon. To enhance the forecasting capability of the model in dealing with price spikes, we deploy a previously unexplored input in the proposed methodology. That is, to use the recent variations in the output power of thermal units as an indicator of unplanned outages or shift in the supply stack. The proposed method is tested using data from Alberta’s electricity market, which is known for its volatility and price spikes. An economic application of the developed forecasting model is also carried out to demonstrate how several market players in the Alberta electricity market can benefit from the proposed multi-day ahead price forecasting model. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methodology is effective in enhancing forecasting accuracy and price spike detection.

For several stakeholders, including market players, customers, grid operators, policy-makers, investors, and energy efficiency initiatives, having a precise estimate of power pricing is crucial. It is easier for traders to plan, purchase, and sell power transactions with access to accurate electricity price forecasting (EPF). Although energy production and consumption topics are widely discussed in the literature, EPF and renewable energy trading studies receive less attention, especially for intraday market modeling and forecasting. Considering the rapid development of renewable energy sources, the article highlights the significance of integrating the deep learning model, long short-term memory (LSTM), with the proper trading strategy for short-term hourly renewable energy trading by utilizing two different spot markets. Day-ahead and intraday markets are taken into account for the West Denmark grid region (DK1). The time series analysis indicates that LSTM yields superior results compared to other benchmark machine learning algorithms. Using the predictions obtained by LSTM and the recommended trading strategy, promising profit values are achieved for the DK1 wind and solar energy use case, which ensures future motivation to develop a general and flexible model for global data.

Day-ahead electricity price forecasting (DAEPF) holds critical significance for stakeholders in energy markets, particularly in areas with large amounts of renewable energy sources (RES) integration. In Japan, the proliferation of RES has led to instances wherein day-ahead electricity prices drop to nearly zero JPY/kWh during peak RES production periods, substantially affecting transactions between electricity retailers and consumers. This paper introduces an innovative DAEPF framework employing a Convolutional Neural Network–Long Short-Term Memory (CNN–LSTM) model designed to predict day-ahead electricity prices in the Kyushu area of Japan. To mitigate the inherent uncertainties associated with neural networks, a novel ensemble learning approach is implemented to bolster the DAEPF model’s robustness and prediction accuracy. The CNN–LSTM model is verified to outperform a standalone LSTM model in both prediction accuracy and computation time. Additionally, applying a natural logarithm transformation to the target day-ahead electricity price as a pre-processing technique has proven necessary for higher prediction accuracy. A novel “policy-versus-policy” strategy is proposed to address the prediction problem of the zero prices, halving the computation time of the traditional two-stage method. The efficacy of incorporating a suite of multimodal features: areal day-ahead electricity price, day-ahead system electricity price, areal actual power generation, areal meteorological forecasts, calendar forecasts, alongside the rolling features of areal day-ahead electricity price, as explanatory variables to significantly enhance DAEPF accuracy has been validated. With the full integration of the proposed features, the CNN–LSTM ensemble model achieves its highest accuracy, reaching performance metrics of R2, MAE, and RMSE of 0.787, 1.936 JPY/kWh, and 2.630 JPY/kWh, respectively, during the test range from 1 March 2023 to 31 March 2023, underscoring the advantages of a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to DAEPF.

Our research involves analyzing the latest models used for electricity price forecasting, which include both traditional inferential statistical methods and newer deep learning techniques. Through our analysis of historical data and the use of multiple weekday dummies, we have proposed an innovative solution for forecasting electricity spot prices. This solution involves breaking down the spot price series into two components: a seasonal trend component and a stochastic component. By utilizing this approach, we are able to provide highly accurate predictions for all considered time frames.

Advanced machine learning (ML) algorithms have outperformed traditional approaches in various forecasting applications, especially electricity price forecasting (EPF). However, the prediction accuracy of ML reduces substantially if the input data is not similar to the ones seen by the model during training. This is often observed in EPF problems when market dynamics change owing to a rise in fuel prices, an increase in renewable penetration, a change in operational policies, etc. While the dip in model accuracy for unseen data is a cause for concern, what is more, challenging is not knowing when the ML model would respond in such a manner. Such uncertainty makes the power market participants, like bidding agents and retailers, vulnerable to substantial financial loss caused by the prediction errors of EPF models. Therefore, it becomes essential to identify whether or not the model prediction at a given instance is trustworthy. In this light, this paper proposes a trust algorithm for EPF users based on explainable artificial intelligence techniques. The suggested algorithm generates trust scores that reflect the model’s prediction quality for each new input. These scores are formulated in two stages: in the first stage, the coarse version of the score is formed using correlations of local and global explanations, and in the second stage, the score is fine-tuned further by the Shapley additive explanations values of different features. Such score-based explanations are more straightforward than feature-based visual explanations for EPF users like asset managers and traders. A dataset from Italy’s and ERCOT’s electricity market validates the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. Results show that the algorithm has more than 85% accuracy in identifying good predictions when the data distribution is similar to the training dataset. In the case of distribution shift, the algorithm shows the same accuracy level in identifying bad predictions.

In the electricity market environment, electricity price forecasting plays an essential role in the decision-making process of a power generation company, especially in developing the optimal bidding strategy for maximizing revenues. Hence, it is necessary for a power generation company to develop an accurate electricity price forecasting algorithm. Given this background, this paper proposes a two-step day-ahead electricity price forecasting algorithm based on the weighted $K$-nearest neighborhood (WKNN) method and the Gaussian process regression (GPR) approach. In the first step, several predictors, i.e., operation indicators, are presented and the WKNN method is employed to detect the day-ahead price spike based on these indicators. In the second step, the outputs of the first step are regarded as a new predictor, and it is utilized together with the operation indicators to accurately forecast the electricity price based on the GPR approach. The proposed algorithm is verified by actual market data in Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM), and comparisons between this algorithm and existing ones are also made to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can attain accurate price forecasting results even with several price spikes in historical electricity price data.

This study introduces a ground-breaking approach, the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA)-based multivariate exponential smoothing Grey-Holt (GMHES) model, designed for electricity price forecasting. Key features of the proposed WOA-GMHES(1,N) model include leveraging historical data to comprehend the underlying trends in electricity prices and utilizing the WOA algorithm for adaptive optimization of model parameters to capture evolving market dynamics. Evaluating the model on authentic high- and low-voltage electricity price data from Cameroon demonstrates its superiority over competing models. The WOA-GMHES(1,N) model achieves remarkable performance with RMSE and SMAPE scores of 12.63 and 0.01 %, respectively, showcasing its accuracy and reliability. Notably, the model proves to be computationally efficient, generating forecasts in

Redundant complexities and inadequate representation of spatiotemporal features are included in the electricity price data. To address complex data redundancy and inadequate representation of spatiotemporal features, a gated channel mechanism (GCM) combined with a high-order pooling feature enhanced convolutional LSTM network (GCHCon-LSTM) electricity price prediction model is proposed. On the standardized processed electricity price dataset, the data vertical correlation information is expanded using gated dual convolutional neural network (GDCNN) integrated adjustment features. Redundant features are filtered using GCM. Temporal and spatial features are extracted by LSTM and ASPConv. Key information on spatial features is extracted using higher-order pooling. Combined with temporal features, the spatiotemporal feature representation is enhanced in a time-dominant and spatial manner. The prediction result is obtained by error correction. On the ERCOT Houston area electricity price dataset, compared to LSTM, CNN-LSTM, GHTnet and ILRCN, the experimental results showed that MAE, MSE and RMSE are reduced by the highest 21.50%, 29.56% and 40.18%, respectively, and the lowest 7.95%, 6.39% and 13.60%.